Faculty member finds new perspective from Sri Lankan business owners
When Laura Cole left for Sri Lanka in October, she wasn’t seeking a getaway. She was searching for a new perspective.
As a long-time entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience, Laura has built and runs her own consulting, coaching, and leadership development business. She is also the program coordinator of Mohawk College’s Business Fundamentals - Small Business program. In both roles, she consistently hears the same questions: How do I find a good business idea? What if it fails? Do I have to do it alone?
Those questions led her to wonder whether different approaches to business could be learned outside of North America.
An entrepreneurial challenge abroad
When Laura was given the opportunity to join nine women from around the world on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Sri Lanka, she jumped at the chance.
Hosted by the global network LadyStrength, the trip offered new opportunities and experiences. Navigating their tuk-tuks through the Sri Lankan mountains, the group met business owners everywhere, many of whom were women working in male-dominated fields.
The 10-day journey spanned more than 500 kilometres through steep mountains, tea country, and rural villages. With just a one-hour driving lesson before setting off, the women quickly realized the journey would require adaptability.
“Nobody told us what problems we were going to face,” Laura explained. “The problems just showed up—and we had to figure them out in real time. That, to me, is entrepreneurship.”
One moment captured this spirit perfectly. Lost in a busy city and needing to make a U-turn with no traffic lights, the women drew the attention of nearby locals, as women driving tuk-tuks is highly unusual in Sri Lanka. When the traffic finally broke, and the turn was made, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Collaboration and community
Instead of competition, Laura saw collaboration everywhere. Market vendors sent customers to neighbouring stalls, tea-farming families shared work across generations, and small business owners relied on one another to create opportunities. “They don’t even call it entrepreneurship,” Laura reflected. “It’s about what the community needs and who can help provide it.”
One of the most impactful visits was to Sri Lanka’s first women-owned and operated hotel. Women hold every role in the hotel. When Laura asked one employee what it felt like to work there, the woman placed a hand on her chest and said one word: “Empowerment.”
“She didn’t need to explain it,” Laura said. “You could feel it. The space was built so women could just work, thrive, and be who they wanted to be.”
Throughout the trip, Laura met entrepreneurs everywhere. A jeweller working inside a hotel in the hill country, a young henna artist building her business through relationships with local hotels, and a horse farm owner in Negombo, where Laura spent a day riding on the beach and swimming in the ocean.
Something that stood out to Laura was how innovation happens, quickly and without jargon. “They don’t call it innovation,” Laura said. “If something doesn’t work, they just change it. Immediately.”
This practical approach, Laura realized, is something she wants to model for her students. Entrepreneurs in North America often feel overwhelmed by the pressure to perfect their business plans and adhere to established systems. In Sri Lanka, innovation is a natural instinct.
Returning home, Laura is thinking deeply about what strengths exist within Canadian culture that might be underused. She doesn’t want to replicate Sri Lanka’s systems, but she hopes to carry forward the underlying lesson: opportunity is everywhere when you start observing.
It’s a message she hopes will encourage future students at Mohawk College to seek community to make entrepreneurship feel less complicated and far less solitary.